1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a contact terminal, and more particularly to a contact terminal having an insulative cap. The present invention also relates to a fine pitch connector where risk of short-circuit between two adjacent contact terminal can be properly avoided.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical connectors are widely used in various electrical devices for establishing electrical connection between two electronic members, such as an IC (Integrated Circuit) package and a PCB (Printed Circuit Board).
The electrical connector generally includes an insulative housing and a larger number of contacts received in the housing and arranged in rows and columns. With rapid development of technology, the electrical connector is designed with more and more small profile, and the pitch of the contacts is also subject to be decreased. The contacts deflect and move toward one another when engage with an electronic device. In worst scenario, physical contact and short circuit between adjacent contacts may occur due to the deflection of the contacts, thereby destroying the electrical connection with the electronic device.
Typically, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,908,313, an electrical socket for interconnecting an LGA chip with a PCB includes an insulative housing (2) and a multiplicity of terminals (1). The housing includes a plurality of passageways (26) extending therethrough for engagingly accommodating corresponding terminals. Each terminal includes a locating plate (10) arranged in rows, and a mating beam (12) connected to the locating plate and extending along the corresponding row. The terminals and the mating beams are arranged so that a projection A of each mating beam along the corresponding row is longer than a distance B between each two adjacent locating plates of two adjacent terminals arranged in the same row. Accordingly, when the mating beams are engaged with electrodes of the LGA chip, the mating beams are long enough to provide excellent resilient deflection characteristics, thereby ensuring good mechanical and electrical connection between the mating beams and the electrodes. As illustrated in FIGS. 1-9, it can be readily seen that two adjacent contact terminals are overlapped along vertical direction so as to meet the fine-pitch requirements. As a result, the risk of short-circuiting between two adjacent contact terminals are therefore raised.
In view of the above, an improved contact is desired to overcome the above-mentioned problem.